Weitzman fundraising pits taps Young Hollywood

The Associated Press, Tuesday, September 25, 2012, 1:04pm (PDT)

NEW YORK (AP) — When you are a hot young starlet in Hollywood, you often get what you want. For Nikki Reed, that meant goose-bump calfskin, and for Chloe Grace Moretz, it was a menswear-inspired design. They are two of the celebrities to work with footwear designer Stuart Weitzman to craft shoes to their specs to help raise money for ovarian cancer research.

Weitzman has a long history of working with stars, and he finds many of them to be "frustrated fashion designers."

"It doesn't surprise me when they make requests or have ideas. They have a desire to create what they wear and what they look like," said Weitzman. "It would be surprising to me if they didn't want to have more input and try design."

The Young Hollywood Cares collection was co-designed this year by Moretz, Reed, Brooklyn Decker, Julianne Hough and AnnaSophia Robb.

Weitzman recalled Moretz's inspiration: "She told me as a kid, she would wear her father's wingtips and oxfords. ... And she wanted to make a shoe like her dad's that was sexy, high and wearable."

Other styles include Decker's gold metallic cap-toe black multistrap ankle boots, and Robb's black pony-hair stiletto pumps with burgundy satin piping.

This is the second round of collaborations, following last year's successful fundraising effort of $80,000, which was done without much promotion or publicity, Weitzman said.

"I want to be more visible," he said. "I have learned it's hard to ask people for money and it's harder to get them to give it, but if you have fun and make some noise, you can rattle it. You'll buy something, even if it costs a little more, but why not for a good cause?"

Proceeds from the collection benefit research at the Folkman Laboratory at Boston's Children's Hospital.

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Online:

http://www.stuartweitzman.com/